Bacon chips and patties

ABSTRACT

Bacon chips, bacon patties and bacon pizza topping products are provided from meat sources which include ends and pieces of cured bacon bellies which are bound together by an uncooked meat trimmings binder which has the brine flavor of the bacon ends and pieces and which is preferably porcine. These coarsely ground meat components are shaped and placed into condition for slicing. When sliced to between about 12 and about 16 slices per inch and suitably cooked to a cooking yield of about 25 to about 30 weight percent, cooked bacon chips are provided. When sliced to about 6 to about 10 slices per inch and cooked to a suitable cook yield of between about 35 weight percent and less than about 40 weight percent, bacon patties are provided.

This application is a Division of Ser. No. 09/338,159 filed Jun. 22,1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,927.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to bacon chips or bacon patties and tothe manufacture and preparation of such bacon-originating products. Moreparticularly, chips or patties are prepared which are disks of a desiredprofile, whether circular, oval, rectangular, or other desired planshape, which disks are cooked into a finished product suitable forincorporation into packaged meals, sandwich components, pizzas, packagedsnacks, and the like. The disks are made from ground, processed baconends or pieces which are mixed with ground uncooked meat trimmings and abrine solution, which meat mixture is shaped, frozen and sliced into thedisks which are subsequently cooked into the bacon chips, patties andthe like.

Bacon products originating from pork belly cuts have long been used infood products such as sandwiches, meals, side dishes and the like.Traditionally, these take the form of elongated strips which are slicedfrom a cured pork belly. While great strides have been made in recentyears in order to achieve more uniformity in certain bacon strips,sizing variabilities and inconsistencies still occur, and it is notpossible to closely control the shape of the strips or to vary theirshape or size to any substantial extent. Weight and size control ofprecooked whole and partial bacon strips is very difficult because ofthe originating natural shape of the belly and because the cook levelcan vary greatly from strip to strip, and even within the same strip.Such inconsistencies are due, in part, to variable fat content, size,and in some instances thickness. These parameters can vary dependingupon the source of each particular strip. In addition, the traditionalelongated strip shape is not always suitable for all applications,limiting the usefulness of these traditional bacon products, orrequiring size-reduction and/or assembly steps in preparing a finaldesired food product.

Because of these limitations, there has been a desire to be able toprovide a precooked bacon product which delivers the true cooked flavorand texture of bacon in a shape and size which can be particularlyadvantageous for use in meal, sandwich and snack products and the like.In the past, approaches have been taken in order to address these typesof needs and desires. Gibson U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,496 describes a methodof making a bacon-containing food product. This patent utilizes baconends and combines bacon end pieces with additions that are high inprotein content and high in albumin content, which combination is shapedinto a form suitable for cooking. Requiring a high-albumin componentmakes such products less than suitable for providing true cooked flavorand texture of bacon. Depner U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,337 describes a sausageproduct for simulating bacon having two separate components, one being alean meat appearing component, and the other a fat-appearing component.With this approach, the fat-like component serves as a binder for thelean meat component. The resulting sliced product has an elongated stripshape of a simulated bacon, a non-meat originating binder beingincluded.

According to the invention, suitable bacon chip, bacon patty and thelike is provided in cooked form without requiring a binder such asalbumin. Products are provided which deliver the true cooked flavor andtexture of bacon in a small chip or patty format which is sized andshaped as desired. They incorporate ends and/or pieces of processed,cured bacon which are traditional byproducts of bacon processing andslicing carried out during industrial-scale bacon packaging operations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Cooked bacon disks are prepared from a meat mixture which has groundprocessed bacon ends as its primary component. This meat mixture alsoincludes a substantial quantity of an uncooked ground meat trimmingsbinder and a brine solution. Included is a process which incorporatesbacon ends or pieces of bacon bellies which have been processed fromuncooked bacon bellies by curing, cooking and smoking and chilling.These processed ground ends or pieces are mixed with uncooked meattrimmings having a fat percentage between about 5 and about 60 weightpercent, together with a brine solution to form the bacon meat mixture,which is shaped and frozen so as to provide a sliceable shaped meatstick. This stick is then sliced so as to form a plurality of sliceswhich are then cooked into bacon disks which can take the form of baconchips, bacon patties, bacon pizza topping and the like having ageometric shape which need not be that of a conventional, natural baconstrip. The present products can take on shapes including circular, oval,rectangular and the like.

It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to provideimproved products having the cooked flavor and texture of bacon in asmall chip or patty format.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved process andproduct produced thereby, which process shapes a meat mixture having atleast 50% by weight of ground processed bacon ends.

Another object of the present invention is to provide improved cookedbacon products in the form of chips which are generally disk-like andwhich are suitable for inclusion within packaged meal products.

Another object of this invention is to provide improved cooked baconpatties which are suitable for use as sandwich components.

Another object of the present invention is to provide small chipssuitable for use as a bacon pizza topping or for use as a packaged snackitem.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from and clearly understood through aconsideration of the following detailed description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The term bacon disks is used generally herein to include relativelythin, cooked bacon products including bacon chips and bacon patties. Theformer are especially thin and well suited for use as components ofmeals, sandwiches, packaged snacks, pizza toppings and the like. Baconpatties are typically thicker and are more suitable for use as a cookedsandwich meat. The patties have a less crisp, more chewy consistency,combined with a lighter colored appearance, whereas the chips are crispyand darker in color. A chip type of product will have a thickness, priorto final cooking, of about {fraction (1/12)} to about {fraction (1/16)}of an inch, whereas the patties are of a thickness of between about ⅙and about {fraction (1/10)} of an inch prior to final cooking.

The other primary shape parameter of the bacon disks are surface shapeand size. A common shape is circular, this shape being typical of disksmade by transversely slicing the bacon product which has been formed bystuffing into a casing. Other bacon disk shapes are readily obtained byappropriately shaping the meat material with a suitable shaping means,such as a mold, non-circular casing, forming device and the like. Shapesin this regard include oval, rectangular, square and other shapes suchas those which are multi-faceted or shaped so as to conjure up aparticular brand or character. It will be understand that reference to abacon disk, unless otherwise noted, encompasses these shapes andthicknesses, even though specific reference generally may be made tocircular chips or patties.

In the preferred embodiment which is illustrated, ends and pieces areused which are low-value byproducts from the preparation and slicing ofnatural bacon slices. As generally recognized in the bacon industry,bacon ends and pieces typically are non-standard slices or docked buttends having dimensions less than that needed for a standard bacon sliceor strip. Other non-standard slices include those having dark tissue ora seed appearance, or other undesirable characteristics.

These ends and pieces are size reduced, for example ground and/or diced,so as to overall reduce the size of these bacon ends and pieces. Typicalsize reduction is by grinding through a plate having an opening size ofbetween about ⅛ inch and about ½ inch. A preferred ground size isapproximately ¼ inch.

The bacon ends and/or pieces are products of normal industrial-scalebacon preparation. They are portions of porcine bellies which have beenprocessed into bacon bellies by pumping with brine to cure over time,followed by a cooking and smoking operation. Chilling follows. These arecooked to the extent so that the bacon is back to its green weight, orreduced further in weight. When the thus processed bacon bellies aresubsequently sliced, the bulk of the sliced belly slices preferablyqualify as number one sliced drafts. The remnants are bacon ends andpieces which, while wholesome, do not have the appearance which has cometo be expected of sliced bacon.

If desired, the bacon ends and/or pieces optionally can be furthercooked before or after they are collected as a byproduct. Such cookedbacon ends or pieces which are incorporated into the mixture with themeat binder will have a cook level as desired. Cook level refers to theweight percentage of the cooked ends and/or pieces, based upon theoriginal weight of the processed ends and/or pieces. In those instanceswhere it is desired to have a more fully cooked bacon source, the endsand/or pieces can be further cooked prior to mixing with the meatbinder. A fully cooked, ready-to-eat bacon product has a cook level of40 weight percent or less, whereas a partially cooked bacon product willhave a cook level of above 40 weight percent. Whether fully cooked orpartially cooked, the bacon ends or pieces used will have achieved aninternal temperature of at least 130° F. (54.4° C.) and thus do not fallwithin the category of fresh meat. It will be understood that reworkprocessed bacon ends and pieces also can be used.

Uncooked meat trimmings comprise the other primary component of the meatproducts according to the invention, the meat binder. Uncooked and rawmeat trimmings are ground and cured to a cure level substantially equalto that of bacon. The result is a binder of meat trimmings whichcoordinates with the brine level or cure level of the other primarycomponent, the ground bacon ends and pieces. Suitable meat trimmings are72 ham trim, belly trim, and the like. It will be appreciated that 72ham trim has a fat content of approximately 28 weight percent. The meattrimmings for this component can have a fat level of between about 5weight percent and about 60 weight percent fat, preferably less thanabout 40 weight percent fat, and most preferably below about 30 weightpercent fat. It is preferred that porcine meat be used so that theproduct can be identified entirely as a pork product when desired. Theuse of belly trim may be beneficial in being able to indicate that theproduct originated solely from bellies or bacon components.

It is generally advantageous to mix the raw meat trimmings in thepresence of the brine solution. Grinding typically is between about ⅛inch and about ½ inch, a preferred target grind being approximately ¼inch.

A brine solution can be referred as a cure solution or a picklesolution. The primary component of such solutions is water. Otherprincipal components are salt and sugar. Minor components can beincluded such as smoke flavoring agents, sodium phosphates, sodiumerythorbate, and sodium nitrite. In the normal course of nitritetreatments, sodium erythorbate is a required component. Bindercomponents such as albumin and the like are not required in either thebrine solution or other components of the products according to theinvention.

Curing with the brine solution will proceed for a length of time whichassures that the brine is properly absorbed with the raw meat trimmingsso as to cure them properly. Typically, such curing will be at about 40°F. (4.4° C.). Typical cure times will be between about one hour and 24hours. In the preferred approach, the brine solution used to cure theraw meat trimmings is substantially identical to the brine which hadbeen used in curing the bacon bellies from which the bacon ends and/orpieces originated. Preferably, the brine will impart to the meattrimmings a cured taste which is substantially that of the bacon endsand/or pieces.

The amount of brine used should render the eventually prepared baconmeat mixture to be fluid enough so as to be suitable for a subsequentforming operation. For example, if the bacon meat mixture is to beshaped by a casing, the brine content should render the bacon meatmixture fluid enough so as to be easily stuffable, that is not firm orstiff. Other shaping approaches such as extrusion or molding mightperform better at greater or lesser fluid or moisture levels, which willbe generally appreciated in the art.

The size-reduced bacon ends and/or pieces are mixed with the curedbinder of meat trimmings in order to form a bacon meat mixture of thedesired consistency. This bacon meat mixture has between about 50 weightpercent and about 80 weight percent of the size-reduced processed baconends and/or pieces and between about 20 weight percent and less than 50weight percent of the cured meat trimmings binder. The brine solution ofthe cured binder of meat trimmings comprises between about 8 weightpercent and not more than 30 weight percent. With further reference tothe size-reduced bacon ends and/or pieces, a preferred range is betweenabout 50 and about 70 weight percent. It will be understood thatquantities above about 70 weight percent may be especially suitable whena leaner meat trimmings binder is used. Each of these weight percents isbased upon the total weight of the bacon meat mixture formed from thesecomponents.

After shaping is accomplished by stuffing the bacon meat mixture into acasing, by extruding, by inserting into a mold or the like, the baconmeat mixture sets up so as to be easily handled and sliceable. Often,this involves reducing the temperature. The temperature reduction shouldbe suitable to assist in the subsequent slicing of the shaped meatproduct. This can take the form of either freezing or crust chilling theshaped meat product. Freezing to a hard frozen condition is preferred soas to reduce the internal temperature of the shaped meat to betweenabout 0° F. and about 18° F., preferably between about 5° F. and about15° F. (between about −18° C. and −8° C., preferably between about −15°C. to about −9° C.). When crust chilling is to be carried out, only anoutside perimeter layer of the shaped meat is actually frozen, while thecentral portion is well chilled but not necessarily brought to a frozenstate. Whatever approach is used, the meat mixture at this stage takeson the form of a sliceable shaped meat stick.

Next, the sliceable shaped meat stick is subjected to slicing. At thisstage, a choice is to be made as to whether the final disk-shapedproduct is to be a product in the nature of a chip or a product in thenature of a patty. The preferred embodiment is the bacon chip type ofproduct. In this embodiment, the slicing equipment is set so as to cutabout 12 to 16 slices per inch of the sliceable shaped meat stick.Preferably, this slicing will be at about 14 to 15 slices per inch.After subjecting these slices to the subsequent cooking step, thin andcrispy bacon disks, or bacon chips, are prepared.

When the bacon patty embodiment is desired, the sliceable shaped meatstick will be sliced at about 6 to about 10 slices per inch, preferablyabout 8 to 9 slices per inch. After undergoing the subsequent cookingstep, these slices are formed into bacon disks, or bacon patties, whichare tougher, more chewy and lighter in color than are the bacon chipsaccording to the preferred embodiment.

Whatever slicing approach is used, it can be accomplished by suitablecommercially available slicing equipment for slicing large sticks ofmeat or other food products. Included is slicing equipment availablefrom Cashin, Formax, Grote, and others.

Slices formed as noted above are next subjected to cooking. In order tofacilitate commercial-scale production, it is preferred that the cookingtake place on or in association with a conveyorized system. Conveyorizedmicrowave cooking systems are preferred. In addition to microwavecooking approaches, deep fat frying is possible such as in a hot oilbath with a screen belt, although this can create unnecessarycomplications in terms of added fat, as well as in terms of the abilityto convey the disks by means of a supportive surface. Other approachesare suitable, such as the use of plate fryers which sandwich the itembeing cooked between conveying platens. Another approach is the use ofconveyor impingement oven equipment such as those used in bakingcrackers and the like. This latter approach can be particularly usefulwhen the bacon disk is to be in form of a bacon chip having a waffledappearance on the order of that of a potato chip and the like.

Whatever cooking approach is used, the extent of cooking is definedconveniently in accordance with a percentage yield. In order for a baconproduct to be classified as fully cooked under controlling USAgovernmental regulations, that is those of the United States Departmentof Agriculture, the weight percent of the cooked chip in accordance withthe invention must be 40 weight percent or less of the total weightpercent of the sliceable shaped meat stick, that is the weight of theslices going into the cooking unit.

General overall cooking yields can be between about 25 and about 60weight percent. When the cooked disks are to be in the nature of a baconchip product, the cook yield typically will be between about 25 weightpercent and about 30 weight percent. For the bacon patty type ofproduct, the cook yield will be between about 30 weight percent andabout 35 weight percent. A cook yield of between about 25 and about 32weight percent tends to provide a product with acceptable shelfstability attributes. A pizza topping product would have a cook yieldbetween about 35 and about 60 weight percent.

The final product which is prepared should have a water activity whichis equal to or less than about 0.85 a_(w). When sealed within suitablemodified-atmosphere packaging, this water activity level contributes toproviding adequately shelf stable meat products.

In another embodiment, the percentage yield can be in the area of about40 weight percent to 60 weight percent when it is desired to provide apartially cooked bacon disk. The resulting product typically will have awater activity level greater than about 0.85 a_(w). The resultingpartially cooked disk will be more in the nature of a typical sausageproduct. These partially cooked disks can find special application astoppings for pizzas which could be subjected to subsequent cooking priorto consumption.

Typically, after the cooking step, the cooked bacon disks will be airchilled in order to remove excess fat and to chill the disks to below40° F. (4.4° C.) prior to packaging. The cooled, cooked disks are filledinto packages and hermetically sealed in modified atmosphere packagingas appropriate for the particular product. Vacuum packaging is suitablefor certain products. For many others, gas flushing with a suitable gassuch as a mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide is quite suitable.Packaging can be such that a plurality of the cooked disks arehermetically sealed within a pouch, either alone or mixed with othersnack items. Also, the cooked bacon disks can be included withinpackaged meals as a component of a meal to be consumed cool, unheated orheated, depending upon the particular tastes of the consumer or heatingequipment available to the consumer. For example, the cooked bacon chipsaccording to the invention can be included within a packaged meal asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,084, No. 5,657,874, No. 5,375,701, No.5,312,634, No. 5,123,527, and No. 5,119,940, incorporated hereinto byreference.

It will be appreciated that one advantage of the present invention isthe ability to provide bacon disks which are sized and shaped accordingto the particular end need to be addressed by the product. For example,a bacon disk for use as a component of a bacon and beef burger sandwichcan be made to a size and shape so as to conform to that of the beefburger component and/or of the bun component of the sandwich mealproduct. These could be of a generally circular shape or of a squareshape so as to conform to that of the beef burger component and/or buncomponent. Smaller cooked bacon disks might be more suitable when thebacon disk is to be used as a meat component of a breakfast meal, forexample. Such products typically would be circular and have a diameterof between about 1.5 inch and about 2 inches. Bacon chip products mightbe more suitably of the bite-sized variety, which could be as small asabout one inch in diameter or other major dimension of non-circularbacon disks. Practically speaking, a bacon disk product according to theinvention would have a diameter or other major width component ofbetween about one inch (2.54 cm) and about 5 inches (12.7 cm).

In addition to the fact that the present invention allows the producerto select bacon disk thickness and overall size, the processor cancontrol weights and cook levels, together with associated texture andappearance characteristics. Whatever choices are made, the productdelivers true bacon flavor and texture. Also because of the ability forthe bacon disks to be uniform in size and weight, they can be handled onconventional conveyor systems and can flow through automated systems forcooking, weighing, counting, dispensing and package filling.

Illustrations of the disclosure herein are provided by the followingExamples.

EXAMPLE 1

Bacon chips which are a bacon and ham product, fully cooked, cured,chopped and formed, were prepared with a formula comprising a mixture of51.0 pounds of cured, cooked and smoked, and chilled bacon ends andpieces, and 49.0 pounds of 72 ham trim (28% fat) cured with 5.88 poundsof brine solution which comprised about 12% brine for the 72 ham trim.The bacon ends and pieces and the 72 ham trim were passed through agrinder set at ¼ inch. This was mixed and stuffed into casings having adiameter of 1.75 inch, this batter being fluid enough to be stuffedwell. The stuffed and thus shaped meat mixture was placed into a freezerenvironment at 0° F. (−17.8° C.). After slicing, the slices were cookedwithin a deep fat fryer which was maintained at a frying temperature ofbetween about 265° F. and about 275° F. (about 129.4° C. to about 135°C.). The water activity of the resulting bacon chips was 0.646.

EXAMPLE 2

Bacon chips were prepared generally in accordance with Example 1, exceptthe meat ingredients were as follows. Fifty-one pounds of bacon ends andpieces and 25 pounds of 72 ham trim were ground to ¼ inch, and 24 poundsof 85 shank trim were ground to {fraction (3/16)} inch. After processingand cooking, the bacon chips provided were leaner and more in the natureof a low fat bacon chip.

EXAMPLE 3

A formulation similar to that of Example 1 and containing 51% by weightof bacon ends and pieces was processed in generally the same manner,except the cooking was accomplished by twice passing the plurality ofslices from the shaped stick through a microwave oven. The resultingbacon chips had a water activity of 0.61. They analyzed as being 12weight percent moisture, 41.7 weight percent protein and 37.1 weightpercent fat.

EXAMPLE 4

Bacon ends and pieces were ground to ¼ inch to provide a source having45% fat. Fifty-one pounds of these ground processed ends and pieces weremixed with 49 pounds of 72 ham trim and 5.88 pounds of pickle solution.The resulting product had a fat percentage of 36.67 weight percent. Thismeat mixture was shaped, frozen and sliced at 14 slices per inch andcooked on a microwave bacon line. The thus produced bacon disks weresoft and chewy.

EXAMPLE 5

The sliceable shaped meat stick prepared in accordance with Example 4was essentially duplicated, except it was sliced at a rate of 15 slicesper inch. Microwave cooking was carried out. In one instance, thecooking was such that the cook yield was 30% and the resulting chipswere somewhat chewy and had some pinkish coloration and had someham-like flavor notes. Other slices were cooked to a cook yield of 27%to provide bacon chips having a crispy texture and more brown in colorand more bacon-like in flavor when compared with those at the 30% cookyield.

EXAMPLE 6

Bacon chips were prepared from a formulation of ¼ inch ground processedbacon ends and pieces having a fat percentage of 45 weight percent.Sixty pounds of these were combined with 40 pounds of ¼ inch ground 72ham trim pickled with 4.8 pounds of brine solution. Mixing was undervacuum for four minutes at 45 rpm. These were stuffed into 4½ inchcasings and frozen to 0° F. (−17.8° C.) or below for subsequent cookinginto large bacon chips.

EXAMPLE 7

A meat mixture as noted in Example 6 was mixed at approximately 45 rpmfor four minutes under vacuum and then stuffed into 1.75 inch casingswhich were frozen to at least 0° (−17.8° C.) until hard enough forslicing. Multiple batches totaling 628.8 pounds of meat mixture, afterslicing and cooking provided a plurality of chips having a total weightof 157 pounds, calculating to a cook yield of 25%.

EXAMPLE 8

Bacon ends and pieces ground through a ¼ inch plate, as was 72 ham trim.Sixty pounds of the processed bacon ends and pieces were combined with40 pounds of the ham trim and 4.8 pounds of pickle curing solution.These components were added to a paddle mixer and mixed for four minutesat 32 rpm. After cure, the resulting batter was stuffed into 1.75 inchdiameter casings, which stuffed casings were placed on a rack within ablast freezer, followed by holding in a tempering cooler, with thetemperature of the environment being no greater than 10° F. (−12.2° C.)during freezing and tempering. The sticks became hard enough to besliced. The casings were removed, and the sticks were sliced in a Groteslicer after docking the butt ends to assure only full diameter roundslices were provided. Slicing was at 15 slices per inch. The resultingslices were passed to a microwave conveyor and cooked so as to provide acook yield of 27.5 weight percent, the cook yield being calculated onthe basis of product out of the slicer as the uncooked weight whencompared with the cooked weight of the resulting bacon chips. The chipshad a diameter ranging between about 0.75 inch and about 1.25 inch. Theywere hermetically sealed within modified atmosphere packaging. Theseproducts were analyzed to have a moisture content of about 22%, aprotein content of about 36%, and a fat content of about 35%. Theproduct contains no allergens such as egg and egg products, milk andmilk products, peanut and peanut products, or wheat and wheat products.

It will be understand that the embodiments of the present inventionwhich have been described are illustrative of some of the applicationsof the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications maybe made by those skilled in the art without departing from the truespirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. Cooked bacon disks prepared by a process whichcomprises: providing byproduct pieces of cured, cooked and smoked, andchilled processed bacon bellies, said byproduct pieces beingthus-processed bacon ends or pieces; grinding said byproduct pieces tobetween about ⅛ inch and about ½ inch grind size in order to prepareground byproduct cured pieces; providing uncooked meat trimmings havinga fat percent between about 5 and about 60 weight percent, based uponthe total weight of the meat trimmings, and grinding said meat trimmingsto between about ⅛ inch and about ½ inch grind size to provide grounduncooked meat trimmings; selecting a brine solution having at leastwater, salt, sugar and nitrite-containing component; mixing together, inthe absence of an albumin binder component, said ground bacon byproductcured pieces, said ground, uncooked meat trimmings, and said brinesolution to form a cured bacon meat mixture without an albumin binder,said mixture having between about 50 and about 80 weight percent of saidground bacon byproduct pieces, between about 20 and less than 50 weightpercent of said ground uncooked meat trimmings, and between about 8about 20 weight percent of said brine solution; shaping said bacon meatmixture and reducing its temperature to provide a sliceable meat stick;slicing said shaped sliceable meat stick so as to form a plurality ofslices; and cooking said slices into cooked bacon disks.
 2. The bacondisks in accordance with claim 1, wherein said cooking provides cookedbacon disks having a cook yield of between about 25 and 40 weightpercent, based upon the weight of the slices after slicing and prior tocooking.
 3. The bacon disks in accordance with claim 1, wherein saidbacon disks are bacon chips having a cook yield of between about 25 andabout 30 weight percent, based on the weight of the slices prior to saidcooking.
 4. The bacon disks in accordance with claim 3, wherein saidslices, prior to cooking, have a thickness of between about {fraction(1/12)} of an inch and about {fraction (1/16)} of an inch.
 5. The bacondisks in accordance with claim 1, wherein said bacon disks are baconpatties having a cook yield of between about 35 and about 40 weightpercent, based on the weight of the slices prior to said cooking.
 6. Thebacon disks in accordance with claim 5, wherein said slices, prior tocooking, have a thickness of between about ⅙ of an inch and about{fraction (1/10)} of an inch.
 7. The bacon disks in accordance withclaim 1, wherein said cooked bacon disks have a water activity of notgreater than about 0.85 to provide a shelf-stable bacon disks.
 8. Thebacon disks in accordance with claim 1, wherein said uncooked meattrimmings are porcine and have a fat percentage of not greater thanabout 40 weight percent fat.
 9. The bacon disks in accordance with claim1, wherein said uncooked meat trimmings are porcine and have a fatpercentage of not greater than about 30 weight percent fat.
 10. Cookedbacon disks comprising slices of a chilled bacon meat mixture, saidslices having been cooked into bacon disks; said chilled bacon meatmixture being a mixture of between about 50 weight percent and about 80weight percent of ground byproduct pieces of processed and cured baconbellies, said byproduct pieces being cured bacon ends or pieces, saidmixture further including between about 20 weight percent and about 50weight percent of uncooked ground meat trimmings and between about 8weight percent and about 20 weight percent of a brine solution, allpercentages being based upon the total weight of the bacon meat mixture,said mixture being in the absence of an albumin binder component, andsaid ground components of the bacon meat mixture have a ground size ofbetween about ⅛ inch and about ½ inch; and said bacon disks, prior tocooking, have a thickness of between about ⅙ of an inch and {fraction(1/16)} of an inch and have a cook yield, after cooking, of betweenabout 25 weight percent and about 40 weight percent of the meat mixtureprior to cooking.
 11. The cooked bacon disks in accordance with claim10, wherein said cooked bacon disks are cooked bacon chips having a cookyield of between about 25 and about 30 weight percent of bacon meatmixture slices having a thickness of between about {fraction (1/12)} andabout {fraction (1/16)} inch.
 12. The cooked bacon disks in accordancewith claim 10, wherein said cooked bacon disks are cooked bacon pattieshaving a cook yield of between about 35 and about 40 weight percent ofbacon meat mixture slices having a thickness of between about ⅙ andabout {fraction (1/10)} inch.
 13. The cooked bacon disks in accordancewith claim 10, wherein said cooked bacon disks are shelf-stable and havea water activity of not greater than about 0.85.
 14. The cooked bacondisks in accordance with claim 11, wherein said cooked bacon disks areshelf-stable and have a water activity of not greater than about 0.85.15. The cooked bacon disks in accordance with claim 10, wherein saiduncooked ground meat trimmings are porcine and contain not greater thanabout 40 weight percent fat.
 16. The cooked bacon disks in accordancewith claim 10, wherein said uncooked ground meat trimmings are porcineand contain not greater than about 30 weight percent fat.